LIAM Ridgewell had extra reason to celebrate this week after getting his hands on his lucky No.6 shirt.

LIAM Ridgewell had extra reason to celebrate this week after getting his hands on his lucky No.6 shirt.

The Baggies new boy was holding out hope of having his favourite number on his back after recently adding the digit to his ever-growing tattoo collection.

At Villa he knew he would never be able to take overGareth Barry’s squad number until he moved on, but he was over-the-moon to make amends when he signed for Blues.

So, when his deadline-day switch to The Hawthorns was finally secured, the formerSt Andrews defender was delighted to hear that he could play at No.6.

“I’d have been devastated if I couldn’t get it, because I would have had to have taken it off my tattoo!” he joked.

“It’s always been my favourite number.

“When I went to Blues I was delighted to get No.6.

“I came here and they offered me four, six or eight, so it was easy enough for me. It’s just a number I’ve liked all my life.

“I was never getting it at Villa because Gareth Barry had it, and he is an Aston Villa legend.

“When I moved to Blues I was delighted to get it and I just like the number on the back of my shirt.”

Ridgewell’s ink is the latest in a series of significant tattoos.

In recent months he has extended the work done on both of his arms which all started back in his Villa days.

The piece which reads ‘Everything happens for a reason’ reflects his philosophical outlook on life and the No.6 drawing was added towards the latter stages of his Blues spell.

“I had it done a little while ago when I had my arm done,” he added,

“Although I liked the number, I didn’t have it done at Villa – I didn’t want to push it through that much!

“I’ve got many tattoos, so I just thought I’d try to take up a bit of room with the six.

“I haven’t got any other numbers. I’ve got my date of birth, but I don’t think they could fit that on my shirt!”

Ridgewell was all smiles at his recent press unveiling and admitted that he was excited to be back in the Premier League after suffering relegation with Blues last year.

Although his form had remained consistent on the pitch, some St Andrews insiders felt that he had become a shadow of the chirpy chap that made him such a pleasure to be around in recent times.

He handed in a transfer request in the summer, but missed out on a move back to the top-flight, which was the root cause of his unrest,

But the joker of the pack insists that he was still the same old Ridgewell, albeit a little deflated because of the relegation.

“I didn’t feel like I had lost my spark because the people at the club – those around the training ground, the physio department, and the people in the ground – were the same with me and I was the same with them,” he added.

“The club as a whole was pretty much the same.

“I just had to keep my wit and enthusiasm going and, hopefully, I showed that when I played.

“I wouldn’t say that it was a difficult time, because I couldn’t have done any more or any less,

“I just had to get on with it and try to do well for Birmingham.

Now all that is behind him, the 27-year-old is looking forward to get fully settled in and admits that the initial impressions about his teammates are good.

“There’s a lot of similarities here compared to when Blues finished ninth,” he added.

“The team is very close-knit. They all want to strive and do well for the club and push the team up the league.

“I see it like that in this group.

“They seem like a great bunch of boys and I’m raring to get myself in there and amongst them.”